SALISBURY, Md. (AP) — Police on the Lower Eastern Shore are looking out for water guns that have been modified to conceal shotguns.

Law enforcement agencies including the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office received a brief recently about the practice.

The most recent incident was in Fresno, Calif., where a man was charged with carrying a 20-gauge shotgun inside the brightly colored plastic shell of a water gun.

State police spokesman Greg Shipley says the prospect of modified water guns is “just another example of why it’s tough to be a police officer.” He says officers will have to use their common sense to evaluate the danger associated with water guns.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)